Racing the Sunset It started with a phone call. My mother answered and disappeared into a room. I heard their voices talking in a concerned tone. “I will be there if I can work a few things out,” she said. I asked if everything was alright and my mother gave me a deep sigh. She forced a smile and told me, “Grandma May is very sick. Do you want to be my navigator?” “What’s that?” I replied. (I was only in fourth grade) October Break was just around the corner. An entire week off of school to do whatever.
I helped my mother pack my suitcase. A long drive to L.A.X. followed by a long wait for a long flight. I watched the ground slowly slip away and watched as the clouds became closer. A few minutes over the sparkling water and the patchwork quilt of the land drew my attention. Over snow capped mountains and green fields we flew. A short layover in San Francisco then onto Portland, Oregon. My mother attempted to calm my nerves for flying for the first time by holding my hand and talking to me in comforting tone. Upon arrival we got our luggage and then the rental car. The damp air was much cooler than sunny California. My mom handed me a spiral notebook with directions as she fiddled with the GPS. One way streets, crossing freeways, we were turned around and didn’t realize we had been driving the wrong way for almost an hour. Once discovered, we found our way To The Columbia River Highway. Leaves changing from green to gold and red they drifted with the breeze. My mother asked what was next and I scanned the pages and highlighted the next direction. We hurried to beat the sunset. Only stopping once at a small diner. Crossing over the water we climbed into the mountains. The windmills stood watch as they towered over the landscape like giants. Mt. St. Helen stood in the distance I wondered a thousand questions including if the sleeping volcano would awaken during our visit. I was only worried for a small fraction of time. My mother and I drove for many hours past harvested fields after fields. The sign Granger, Washington came into view and I moved to the edge of my seat, barely able to contain my excitement. Not only to see my family, but to get out of the car. A left and a right and two more lefts and we arrived to a small home on a patch of green grass with a white picket fence. I jumped out of the car and ran into my Grandmother’s outstretched arms. Little did I know that my grandmother was still inside and I was actually hugging her identical twin, Lee. I giggled awkwardly as I realized my mistake and my Grandma appeared in the doorway with tubes in her nose that lead to an oxygen tank. I hugged her fragile body and kissed my Grandpa, Darrell, and my Uncle, Doug, hello as they sat on the porch smoking their cigarettes. I hurried past to greet my aunts, Diane, Valerie, and Cindy.
To make the week more entertaining for me, my mother decided to wrap all the season’s holidays into one week. I carved pumpkins with my uncle and made pumpkin pies with my Doug. We pretended it was Thanksgiving for a day and made all the yummy food we could think of (which required an hour away trip to Costco). We purchased a small Christmas tree and decorated it with twinkling lights and glittery ornaments. We spent a whole day shopping for gifts and wrapped them to place under our tree. At the end of the day we put on our pajamas and camped out in the living room in front of the tree. Fuzzy slippers, and hot tea we giggled through the night and for five minutes my aunts and uncles were children again with me. Reliving their Christmas memories and giving me one. Watching their parents open gifts and sharing smiles. We talked all night making up for all the years we hadn't seen them. I fell asleep on the floor among the mountain of soft pillows and blankets.
The last day we took photographs of the family and on our way back we posed with large dinosaur statues in the park. Not knowing if this would be the last time I would see my grandmother and grandfather. As the week went on it was obvious how tired she was. When it was finally time to depart before the sun rose, I hugged and kissed everyone multiple times and told them how much I loved them. I finally climbed in the car and my mom handed me the binder full of the directions and once again fussed with the GPS. We waved goodbye and I watched them slowly disappear out of sight, down the street. We discussed if whether or not we wanted to take the long way home past St. Helen but decided against it. Instead we chose to stop at every waterfall, and scenic outlook. We took photos as a way of evidence that we had been there and to capture the memories. We walked across the bridge of Multnomah falls and ate lunch at the restaurant in front of a stone fireplace. After all our sight-seeing was done with we went back to the airport. As the plane took off once again we watched the sunset in a new perspective, from the clouds. I looked below at the sparkling little city lights and drifted off to sleep.
That was the first and only time I have been to Oregon and Washington. We went there expecting my grandmother to pass away that Christmas season. Instead she is still living and we lost my grandfather this last year. I will always have the memories we made that week and treasure them forever.
It started with a phone call. My mother answered and disappeared into a room. I heard their voices talking in a concerned tone. “I will be there if I can work a few things out,” she said. I asked if everything was alright and my mother gave me a deep sigh. She forced a smile and told me, “Grandma May is very sick. Do you want to be my navigator?” “What’s that?” I replied. (I was only in fourth grade) October Break was just around the corner. An entire week off of school to do whatever.
I helped my mother pack my suitcase. A long drive to L.A.X. followed by a long wait for a long flight. I watched the ground slowly slip away and watched as the clouds became closer. A few minutes over the sparkling water and the patchwork quilt of the land drew my attention. Over snow capped mountains and green fields we flew. A short layover in San Francisco then onto Portland, Oregon. My mother attempted to calm my nerves for flying for the first time by holding my hand and talking to me in comforting tone.
Upon arrival we got our luggage and then the rental car. The damp air was much cooler than sunny California. My mom handed me a spiral notebook with directions as she fiddled with the GPS. One way streets, crossing freeways, we were turned around and didn’t realize we had been driving the wrong way for almost an hour. Once discovered, we found our way To The Columbia River Highway. Leaves changing from green to gold and red they drifted with the breeze. My mother asked what was next and I scanned the pages and highlighted the next direction. We hurried to beat the sunset. Only stopping once at a small diner. Crossing over the water we climbed into the mountains. The windmills stood watch as they towered over the landscape like giants. Mt. St. Helen stood in the distance I wondered a thousand questions including if the sleeping volcano would awaken during our visit. I was only worried for a small fraction of time. My mother and I drove for many hours past harvested fields after fields. The sign Granger, Washington came into view and I moved to the edge of my seat, barely able to contain my excitement. Not only to see my family, but to get out of the car. A left and a right and two more lefts and we arrived to a small home on a patch of green grass with a white picket fence.
I jumped out of the car and ran into my Grandmother’s outstretched arms. Little did I know that my grandmother was still inside and I was actually hugging her identical twin, Lee. I giggled awkwardly as I realized my mistake and my Grandma appeared in the doorway with tubes in her nose that lead to an oxygen tank. I hugged her fragile body and kissed my Grandpa, Darrell, and my Uncle, Doug, hello as they sat on the porch smoking their cigarettes. I hurried past to greet my aunts, Diane, Valerie, and Cindy.
To make the week more entertaining for me, my mother decided to wrap all the season’s holidays into one week. I carved pumpkins with my uncle and made pumpkin pies with my Doug. We pretended it was Thanksgiving for a day and made all the yummy food we could think of (which required an hour away trip to Costco). We purchased a small Christmas tree and decorated it with twinkling lights and glittery ornaments. We spent a whole day shopping for gifts and wrapped them to place under our tree. At the end of the day we put on our pajamas and camped out in the living room in front of the tree. Fuzzy slippers, and hot tea we giggled through the night and for five minutes my aunts and uncles were children again with me. Reliving their Christmas memories and giving me one. Watching their parents open gifts and sharing smiles. We talked all night making up for all the years we hadn't seen them. I fell asleep on the floor among the mountain of soft pillows and blankets.
The last day we took photographs of the family and on our way back we posed with large dinosaur statues in the park. Not knowing if this would be the last time I would see my grandmother and grandfather. As the week went on it was obvious how tired she was. When it was finally time to depart before the sun rose, I hugged and kissed everyone multiple times and told them how much I loved them. I finally climbed in the car and my mom handed me the binder full of the directions and once again fussed with the GPS. We waved goodbye and I watched them slowly disappear out of sight, down the street.
We discussed if whether or not we wanted to take the long way home past St. Helen but decided against it. Instead we chose to stop at every waterfall, and scenic outlook. We took photos as a way of evidence that we had been there and to capture the memories. We walked across the bridge of Multnomah falls and ate lunch at the restaurant in front of a stone fireplace. After all our sight-seeing was done with we went back to the airport. As the plane took off once again we watched the sunset in a new perspective, from the clouds. I looked below at the sparkling little city lights and drifted off to sleep.
That was the first and only time I have been to Oregon and Washington. We went there expecting my grandmother to pass away that Christmas season. Instead she is still living and we lost my grandfather this last year. I will always have the memories we made that week and treasure them forever.